The field of invention is bearings, and more particularly, to a shaft mounted wedge-type bearing assembly.
It is generally known to mount bearing assemblies on a shaft through the use of set screws or eccentric collars which lock the inner ring of the bearing assembly to the shaft. In such designs, the inner ring of the bearing assembly extends longitudinally along the shaft and is incorporated in the mechanisms for sealing the inner ring against the shaft and for locking the bearing assembly on the shaft.
It is also known to provide a bearing assembly with an inner ring which has extending therethrough a tapered bore and which loosely surrounds the shaft. Such bearing assembly designs also include a cylindrical wedge or tapered mounting adapter sleeve that is also placed over the shaft. The sleeve has therein a longitudinally extending slit which allows the sleeve to be placed over the shaft but affords compression or squeezing the sleeve into frictional engagement with the shaft. The sleeve is pulled into  engagement with the tapered bore in the inner ring of the bearing assembly. The wedge-like engagement between the tapered sleeve and the tapered bore creates an interference fit between the sleeve and the inner ring, and compresses the sleeve into locked engagement with the shaft. The locked engagement between the inner ring and the sleeve, and between the sleeve and the shaft thereby fixes the inner ring relative to the shaft.
The use of a tapered sleeve in conjunction with a tapered inner ring to mount a bearing assembly on a shaft is advantageous in that this type of bearing assembly mounting accommodates shafts which may have a circumference differing from a nominal specified circumference. These wedge-type bearing assemblies, however, are much more difficult to remove from a shaft compared to the bearing assemblies fixed to a shaft using set screws or eccentric collars. Therefore, a need exists for a shaft mounted wedge-type bearing assembly that is easily dismounted from the shaft.